Elderly couple brutally bludgeoned

Bloemfontein – An elderly Bloemfontein couple have been admitted to hospital after they were brutally assaulted with a knobkerrie in their home on Friday night.

Their house in Erlichpark is for sale because Johannes Werner, 81, and his wife Anna, 80, are planning to move to a retirement home.

The severely injured couple were discovered in their house by Frans Smit, a real estate agent, on Saturday morning. They had both sustained serious facial and head injuries.

Smit said when he arrived at the house he could see the blood near the front door. When he entered the house he found the injured couple and contacted their son, Ben.

“I don’t understand how anyone could beat up old people like that. It’s something you have to see to believe,” said Smit.

Cellphone, cash stolen

Police spokesperson Ina Scholtz said the couple had been asleep when Johannes was woken by a noise outside at about 23:00. He got out of bed to investigate, but when he opened the front door he was beaten repeatedly with a knobkerrie.

The assailant entered the house and Anna, too, was severely beaten. The knobkerrie was found at the scene by a police official the next morning.

According to Scholtz, the only items that are missing are a cellphone and a wallet containing a few rand.

The Werners were admitted to the Life-Rosepark hospital in Fichardt Park where their injuries were treated before they were transferred to the Pelonomi hospital.

Anna Werner was discharged from hospital on Sunday but her husband was still in the trauma unit, although in a stable condition.

Their son said the two are doing reasonably well after the attack, although both sustained serious injuries. Their wounds include cuts to the scalp and eye socket.